March of the Zapotec & Realpeople - Holland

In 2006, Zach Condon grabbed a lot of attention when he released Gulag Orkestar, an album that mixed the blast of Balkan brass bands with the melancholy of indie rock. It was striking to hear a vocalist who recalled Stephin Merritt and Rufus Wainwright backed by imported oom-pah horn stylings. On the 2009 double-EP, March of the Zapotec & Realpeople - Holland, we see two sides of Condon’s craft. The first EP, March…, finds the New Mexico native collaborating with a different kind of brass group, the Jimenez Band, an outfit from the state of Oaxaca in Mexico; on …Holland, which is credited to Realpeople, Condon creates muted electro-pop. Despite the difference in styles, Condon’s sensibility — and singing — make the two EPs cohere. March opens with “El Zocalo,” a brief instrumental that catches the brass band in fine form, and closes up with “The Shrew,” where Mexican elements are incorporated into Beirut’s distinctive sound. Then we move into Holland’s “My Night With the Prostitute from Marseille,” where twinkly synth plays off of Condon’s yearning vocals. The longest track, “No Dice,” a perky-but-somehow-sad electronic instrumental, wraps things up.